Timeline MiG-15

The Soviet swept-wing fighter that stunned UN pilots over Korea. Powered by a copy of the British Rolls-Royce Nene engine, it became one of the most-produced jet aircraft ever built.

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Dashed left edge = started before this timeline · Dashed right edge = still ongoing

MiG-15 13

1946 Britain sells Nene jet engines to the USSR A gift to Soviet designers Britain's Labour government approves the export of Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets to the Soviet Union. Copied as the Klimov RD-45, the Nene powers the MiG-15.
1947 MiG-15 first flight Prototype I-310 The I-310 prototype of the MiG-15 flies for the first time, powered by a Soviet copy of the British Rolls-Royce Nene engine.
1949 MiG-15 enters Soviet service Mass production begins The MiG-15 enters service with the Soviet Air Forces and goes into mass production, later also built under licence in Czechoslovakia and Poland.
1950 MiG-17 first flight The MiG-15's successor The MiG-17, a refined MiG-15 with a new wing, flies for the first time. It will fight in Vietnam a generation later.
1950 MiG-15s appear over Korea A shock for UN air forces MiG-15s flown by Soviet pilots in Chinese and North Korean markings attack UN aircraft near the Yalu River, outclassing every Western straight-wing fighter in the theatre.
1950 First Sabre versus MiG victory MiG Alley, Korea Lt Col Bruce Hinton shoots down a MiG-15 in the first combat between the two swept-wing fighters, beginning a three-year duel over north-west Korea.
1951 – 1952 Nikolai Sutyagin, top ace of Korea Soviet MiG-15 pilot Flying MiG-15s in secret over Korea, Soviet pilot Nikolai Sutyagin is credited with about 21 victories, the highest score of the war.
1951 Black Thursday B-29 raid on Namsi MiG-15s break through the escort of a B-29 formation attacking Namsi airfield, shooting down or crippling most of the bombers. US daylight B-29 raids in MiG Alley end.
1953 Chuck Yeager test-flies a captured MiG-15 Okinawa Weeks after No Kum-sok's defection, test pilots including Chuck Yeager fly the MiG-15 on Okinawa and report its strengths and dangerous handling flaws.
1953 Korean armistice ends the MiG Alley air war Panmunjom The armistice signed at Panmunjom ends three years of jet combat between MiG-15s and F-86 Sabres over north-west Korea.
1953 No Kum-sok defects with a MiG-15 Kimpo Air Base, South Korea North Korean pilot No Kum-sok lands his MiG-15 at Kimpo, giving the US its first intact example. He had not known of the 100,000-dollar reward offered for one.
1956 Egyptian MiG-15s fight in the Suez Crisis Sinai Egyptian MiG-15s clash with Israeli aircraft over Sinai, shooting down a Meteor and a Piper Cub before Anglo-French strikes destroy much of Egypt's air force on the ground.
1968 Yuri Gagarin dies in a MiG-15 crash Near Kirzhach, Soviet Union The first man in space is killed with his instructor Vladimir Seryogin when their MiG-15UTI trainer crashes during a routine training flight.